Battery replacement

[Rekusu]

What ho one and all,

I have a couple of old but good, DeWalt 14.4v 2.0aH drills.

I am considering replacing the batteries; I know I can buy replacements off Ebay, but wondered if it is worthwhile buying Li-ion cells and doing a bit of soldering?

There are 12 cells in the battery pack. Assuming that I can get the same size cells, what happens if the total voltage is a bit greater? And the Amp hours?

Additionally, am I likely to be able to use the same charger?

Toodle pip and thanks

Rex

 

[endecotp]

I have a couple of old but good, DeWalt 14.4v 2.0aH drills.

Are these NiMH / NiCad ?

I am considering replacing the batteries; I know I can buy replacements off Ebay, but wondered if it is worthwhile buying Li-ion cells and doing a bit of soldering?

If you replace NiMH/NiCad with Li-ion the drill will probably work, but the charger certainly won’t.

If you replace the cells with new ones of the same chemistry, it’s OK to use cells with different Ah capacity if they physically fit.

 

[Rekusu]

Thanks for the reply. Seemed like a good idea until I looked on eBay and can buy a replacement NiCad with 3 Ah for around £12 (ish) Not worth buggereing aorund trying to buy Li-Ion and then get them fitting into the battery pack.

 

[opps]

AFAIK the cells are normally spot welded and not soldered together.

I have an ageing Festool drill that needs new batteries. Festool no longer sell the batteries so at some point I need to send them to one of those firms that opens up the battery case and fits new cells. It is still gonna cost me about £80 per battery.

 

[Rekusu]

Yes, I know the cells are spot welded and that would be another problem! I have seen some YouTube vids on how to construct a DIY spot welder but don't think I can be bothered for the few times. And like many things on YouTube, looks good on the vid, but in reality, never stood a chance of working.

As for built-in redundancy; that is a real bugger.

Reason I will get the new batteries is that I have a Dewalt battery powered saw that uses the same battery pack. If I get a new drill, and there is no reason to, then the saw becomes useless.